Jury
case against a man who had killed the dog of his
client
Tribute To A Dog
From
a speech given by former Senator George Graham
Vest
of
Missouri. Delivered in 1870 when he was acting as a
lawyer
in
a jury case against a man who had killed the dog of his
client.
He
won the case.
"The
one absolutely unselfish friend a man can have in this
selfish world,
the
one that never deserts him, the one that never proves
ungrateful or
treacherous
is his dog. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and
in
poverty,
in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the ground,
where the
wintry
winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be
at his
master's
side.
He
will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. He will lick
the wounds and
sores
that come from the encounter with the roughness of the
world. He
guards
the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When
all other
friends
desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation
falls to
pieces,
he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey
through the
heavens.
